But small-business owners are counting on you and your cash this time of year, too.

Wedged in between the long lines and doorbusters on Thanksgiving Day and the digital shopping carts on Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday and the Shop Small movement.

We’ve all heard the adage that good things come in small packages.

Often, that can be said of retailers, too.

American Express launched the shopping holiday in 2010 as a way to give small businesses a larger voice among the booming commercial holiday ads. Locally owned stores often can’t compete with the mass messages and advertisements that the big-box stores bombard consumers with this time of year. The American Express campaign brings all the little guys together in one, loud, unified campaign.

Sharing the market with the big-box stores is a challenge, but it’s a fun one, said Molly Jackson, who owns Molly’s! A Chic and Unique Boutique on Stickney Point Road just west of U.S. 41. The Shop Small message is one that she wishes consumers heard 365 days a year, but she’ll take what she can get. A single Saturday dedicated to small businesses is better than no spotlight at all.

There’s a level experience and customer service that small businesses can offer that larger retailers often overlook, said Nicole DeMoss, who owns Spider Lily Finery on Siesta Drive across the street from Westfield Southgate. Her shop sells a wide variety of handmade clothing, jewelry and gifts, and she can tell you the background of nearly everything in her store, whether it’s a hand-painted bracelet, a greeting card or a bar of soap. She knows how it’s made and she typically knows the individual artisan you’re supporting.

Jackson also can pay attention to details that a larger retailer might miss. She keeps a database of her customers that tracks what they’ve bought in the past. That data can tell her their size and the styles and even what colors they lean toward. Her staff also keeps a running list of things her shoppers ask for.

Jackson always has specific customers in mind when she goes to market, and little touches like that help set Molly’s! apart from the retail giants. It’s why she went after fox- and mermaid-themed gifts on her last buying trip. Customers asked for them, so she got them.

These little guys aren’t going to offer you a doorbuster-style deal on a television or computer, but their doors will be open and they’ll be waiting for you with the personal touches only they can provide.

And that’s the difference between these mom-and-pop shops and the majority of the chains whose ads you’ll see on television this holiday season.

It’s less about big sales, big promotions and big credit card bills.

It’s more about putting a little more heart into your holiday shopping.